Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Oily fish recipes for a healthy diet, including Jamie
Oliver's soy-baked salmon with zingy salsa, Donal Skehan's chilli, garlic and
lemon mackerel and a tuna, tomato and black olive pasta. This is a very popular
French brasserie dish. The pickled vegetables are a fantastic way to cut the
fattiness of the fish. Some people add white pepper seeds for a
kick at the end, but I like to just stick with fresh coriander, which works
brilliantly in this dish. Oil-rich fish (or oily fish) are those that have oil
distributed through their body, as opposed to white fish, whose main
concentration of oils is located in the liver. Although oily fish contain
higher levels of oil, they are an essential part of a healthy diet due to the
presence of the fatty acid, long-chain omega-3. Oil-rich species include the
mackerel and tuna group, herring and anchovy group, as well as salmon and
trout. The most sustainable varieties of oily fish are mackerel, pilchards,
sardines, herring and skipjack tuna (usually sold canned).

Ingredients

½ cucumber, peeled,
thinly sliced on a mandoline

salt

4 tbsp grated fresh horseradish

2 heaped tablespoon crème fraîche

2 tsp English mustard powder

4 fresh mackerel fillets

salt and freshly ground black pepper

knob of butter

To serve

4 slices soda bread,
toasted, buttered

1 small red onion, thinly
sliced

½ small lemon

Method

For the salted cucumber and horseradish, place the cucumber
slices into a colander and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Mix well and leave the
contents to drain over the sink for half an hour.

Rinse the salt off the cucumber with cold water, then leave
to drain. Gently wring out any excess moisture from the cucumber with your
hands, then set aside.

In a clean bowl, mix the horseradish with the crème fraîche
and mustard powder, making sure the mustard powder is well combined with no
lumps. Set aside.

Season the mackerel fillets on their skin side with salt and
freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the butter in a frying pan until it is foaming, then
add the fillets skin-side down. Place a heat-proof plate onto the cooking
fillets, as this will make sure they stay flat and cook evenly. Cook for 4-5
minutes, or until nearly cooked through, then turn the fillets and cook for 30
seconds, or until just cooked through.

To serve, place a small handful of the cucumber onto the
toast. Place the cooked mackerel fillets onto the cucumber. Place a dollop of
the horseradish sauce on top and garnish with a little of the sliced red onion
and a squeeze of lemon.